It’s been a busy six weeks. A trip to SoCal to interview some folks at Mitsubishi, a trip back the following weekend for a family get-together, a missed weekend in Vegas ruined with a case of food poisoning, HAMMARS (a dozen plus 2GNTers flying into Phoenix for a long weekend), and another trip to SoCal this past weekend to do a follow up story for Mitsubishi Gearbox Magazine.
[464] didn’t actually go racing at El Mirage.
The speed limits through the paddocks were set at 25mph and I was told that the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) had no issues with telling people unable to play by the rules to pack their shit, leave, and never come back. Just as well, there was an epic amount of dust out there.
I went to follow up on a story for Mitsubishi Gearbox Magazine.
The Smith Auto Galant VR4 is the fastest GVR4 in the world as far I’m concerned. Their record at Bonneville is 224mph and their record at El Mirage is 216mph. I was out on the lakebed, multiple cameras in hand, to meet the team and do a proper follow up (it’s still in the works).
Gearbox spoiler alert
With Ron Cochran at the wheel, the Galant VR4 went 201mph on Saturday and 206mph on Sunday. They were shooting for 218mph in order to beat their previous record at El Mirage, but it wasn’t in the cards. Flat fuel trims, the wrong 5th gear, and poor track conditions joined forces to hold them back. All the same, it was a great experience and the whole team – Ron, Troy, Vernon, Patricia, and the rest (sorry, we weren’t introduced) – run a professional outfit without losing sight of all that makes racing cars fun.
I’m currently converting video and learning how to edit same in order to put something together. There’s in-car, out-of-car, and interview footage on the hard drive right now and I hope to get it wrapped up soon.
